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Taking Kael himself as an example—
Although his level currently sat at only 45, not even halfway to the theoretical cap of level 100,
The sheer combat power he possessed under layered conditions and bonuses far exceeded that of ordinary Pokémon at the same level.
If placed on a real battlefield, even those Pokémon who had followed a conventional pathslowly and steadily grinding their way up to levels 60 or even 70—
Might still not be his match.
Granted, Kael was only at the second stage of his evolutionary line, and his raw combat output still fell short of what he had achieved in his previous life as an Ampharos.
But when it came to foundation and stability?
His current Machoke body was far more solid than his previous incarnation ever had been.
Given enough time to grow, surpassing Ampharos and reaching his historical peak strength again was hardly unrealistic.
"…I still need time."
Kael sighed softly in his thoughts.
As a human soul from another world armed with a system and layered stat bonuses—
Once he had secured a basic level of self-preservation, the only thing limiting his growth was time itself.
He shook his head lightly, scattering the tangled thoughts.
His gaze shifted downward, skipping past the unchanged [Ability: Steadfast], and settled on the [Moves] section.
"…Only five new moves?"
That genuinely surprised him.
With the massive jump in level, Kael had expected his move pool to balloon.
Instead, the increase was almost underwhelming.
And among those five—
Shadow Ball and Night Shade existed only because of his unique Ghost-type attributes.
If he excluded those external factors, his Fighting-type progression had granted him just three new moves.
In the Pokémon world, this was actually an unspoken rule.
Young Pokémon were weak but adaptable.
Their learning capacity was high, their combat styles undefined, making it easy for them to pick up new techniques rapidly.
But as a Pokémon grew stronger and its battle instincts solidified,
The number of new moves it could naturally learn would gradually decrease.
In exchange—
Every move it did learn would perfectly align with its combat style, allowing it to bring out its full potential.
Rather than learning chaotically, like in the early stages.
All things considered—
The tradeoff was well worth it.
Kael wasn't disappointed.
His time in the Fighting Gym had already added a large number of techniques tailored specifically to his fighting style.
Compared to quantity—
He valued quality far more.
And fortunately, every one of these five new moves met his expectations.
---
[Superpower]
True to its name this move directly amplified Kael's raw physical strength, pushing his destructive power to another tier entirely.
Had he activated it during his clash with Nidoking, a single punch might have been enough to pulverize its body from the inside out.
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[Dual Chop]
A Dragon-type physical attack—still novel to Kael in this life.
Combined with his already expansive "three-hit" striking style, it widened his damage coverage even further, nearly spanning the entire Pokémon type chart.
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[Bulk Up]
A rare status move that significantly enhanced both Attack and Defense.
When paired with [Focus Energy], it allowed Kael to push his combat power to terrifying heights in a very short time.
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[Shadow Ball]
One of Kael's few long-range special attacks.
While [Aura Sphere] already covered aerial targets with devastating force, its energy cost was high.
Shadow Ball served as the perfect alternative a reliable ranged option for regular engagements.
---
[Night Shade]
A special attack carrying fear-based control effects.
Paired with Shadow Ball, it formed a potent ranged combo.
More importantly, Night Shade's damage scaled directly with Kael's level, giving it exceptional long-term growth potential.
---
With these new additions combined with the techniques he had mastered in the Fighting Gym—
Kael's move set was now fully rounded.
Across land, sea, and air regardless of type, size, or combat style—
He was confident he could find an effective counter using his comprehensive skill pool.
Of course, there were limits.
This applied only to battles on a planetary surface.
If someone expected him to fight in outer space or within a collapsed space-time rift—
That was pure fantasy.
Suspended within the psychic current, Kael's tall, muscular body swayed gently.
He felt both excited and overwhelmed.
Excited because he had gained five powerful, practical moves.
Overwhelmed because he had just finished mastering his Fighting Gym techniques…
And now had five more to internalize.
The upcoming process of familiarization, refinement, and real-combat application would take a significant amount of time.
"…One step at a time."
Kael exhaled softly.
As long as he didn't actively seek death, he would be in this world for quite a while yet.
Plenty of time to master everything.
His gaze drifted downward again, settling on the [Evaluation] and [Held Items] sections.
The system's interface was laughably barebones—
Nothing like the detailed Pokédex stat breakdowns from his previous life.
After reviewing the meaningful changes, there was little left to see.
His held items remained the same two.
The evaluation, however—
Had finally changed.
"Heh."
Kael chuckled quietly.
Wasn't he, in essence, an entirely new Pokémon species now?
Though he still carried the name Machoke, his physical structure, energy composition, and even base stats had diverged dramatically from the norm.
In the games of his previous life, Machoke's base stat total sat at a mediocre 405—
Firmly in the lower-middle tier of the Pokémon hierarchy.
Even at its final evolution, it barely crossed 500, slightly below starter Pokémon.
Hardly exceptional.
Yet Kael was different.
He could feel it—
Under the combined influence of Ghost-type energy and the system's interference, his current base stats were far beyond 405.
How far beyond?
That, he didn't know.
Five hundred?
Five-fifty?
Six hundred?
The system didn't provide that information.
For all he knew—
He might already be brushing against pseudo-legendary territory.
"Hah."
Kael laughed at his own runaway imagination.
If he was already that strong now—
What would happen after his next evolution?
Wouldn't he be approaching legendary levels by then?
He shook his head, clearing the dizziness caused by the psychic current and shoving the absurd thoughts aside.
Just as Kael was about to close the system and check whether he was nearing his destination—
A thought struck him.
"…Wait."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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